How to get this outlet to stick to the wall?

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That's a decora single pole switch and there are a couple of alternatives; you can replace it with a 1 piece unit designed for mobile home which have their own retainer paddles and will hold themselves into the wall cavity.

Or you can install an old work plastic box and install the existing switch.

The device they used to screw them to the wall is evident in your other thread and are available from home desperado in the electrical section.
 
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Most older mobile home company's are going to use the cheapest, fastest way to build them.
Anytime I come across this I remove the outlet or switch, cut out the sheetrock with my oscillating saw to fit an old work box.
 
That's a decora single pole switch and there are a couple of alternatives; you can replace it with a 1 piece unit designed for mobile home which have their own retainer paddles and will hold themselves into the wall cavity.

Or you can install an old work plastic box and install the existing switch.

The device they used to screw them to the wall is evident in your other thread and are available from home desperado in the electrical section.

So I have to replace the switch just to attach it to the wall? The switch works fine.
 
Most older mobile home company's are going to use the cheapest, fastest way to build them.
Anytime I come across this I remove the outlet or switch, cut out the sheetrock with my oscillating saw to fit an old work box.

So I have to replace the switch just to attach it to the wall? The switch works fine.
 
There are 3 possible solutions offered.

The 3rd is the brackets noted in photo #$1 of your other thread and as I said they are available at home desperado in the elec. dept.

They are also probably available from low-n-brow, as well.
 
Unfortunately you may need to replace the entire switch as it is a self contained unit (switch or receptacle within its own device box in-one). If the holding paddles are not functioning correctly it won't anchor properly to the wall surface. If the paddles are missing or non functional you will have to more than likely spend the money for the entire new unit.

Because of the very shallow wall depth in mobile homes between the back of the inside wall material (sheet-rock etc) the inside face of the exterior wall material) using standard old work boxes as replacements sometimes just is not an option.

As in your other thread (3 outlets not working); this is another poor characteristic of these type of all-in-ones. Many of the conductor holders are not even screws that you can wrap a wire around for a solid connection. They are basically designed to place the conductors between the two half sections very carefully and then sandwich the two half sections together hoping that the conductors were aligned properly and that the two half sections were tightened together evenly apply even pressure from top to bottom so that the little "pincers" are pressed into the conductor insulation and make contact with the pinches completing the circuit. These are almost the same dumb design concept of outdoor low voltage lighting connectors. Drive a sharp object into the insulation down deep enough hoping it touches the metal part of the conductor. If any of the "pincers" are bent just a little bit out of alignment when you press the halves together the pincers just won't go deep enough to make contact with the metal part of the conductor; time to buy a new all in one. If the part of the all in one that is used to anchor the all in one to the wall is missing a paddle or a paddle is broken; time to buy a new all-in-one.

I have yet to find any standard old work box that will work correctly in this application (shallow mobile home walls). Well that is work correctly according to code. Usually one would have to "jam", "ram", "cram" the conductors into the device box and then do the same thing with the device (switch/receptacle). It usually boils down to over filling a device box between the space taken by the conductors and the device itself.

If those little pincers are not going deep enough in the conductors it will fail to provide power downstream to the other receptacles.

I guess the all in ones are a way to "circumvent" code (box fill) but yet still fit between that small cavity.
 
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